By ABBAS BAMALLI

Former Senate Leader, Sen. Abdul Ningi, has challenged youths in the country to use their numerical strength to kick out under-performing politicians during elections.

Ningi stated this in Katsina on Thursday, at a 2-day North-West Zonal legislative interactive session with the theme: ?Legislation and Participation of Women and Young Persons in Election and Leadership.?

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was organised by the National Assembly?s Senate Committee on Electoral Matters.

?Young people should go back to history to find out where Nigeria was in 1960 to where and what Nigeria is today.

?What are we facing? It is important for the youths to think again.

?A lot of you have mentioned vote buying and rigging, which is actually very practical in this country.

?But let me say, as a practicing politician, nobody wins elections without the youths and at the same time nobody rigs elections without the youths,? he said.

The lawmaker urged the youths to bear in mind that whatever they allowed to happen in the society would prevail and challenged them to take responsibility accordingly.

?Because youths are at the centre of whatever happens to this country, whatever we are doing to you now is to assist you find your level and realise your destiny.

?Have it at the back of your mind that it is what you allow for the society that will prevail.

?You could see what the ENDSARs protests have brought to Nigeria and others. You could see how the youths turned around the mindsets of policy makers,? Ningi said.

?Gentlemen, if you allow yourself to be played and dribbled with, then it is you and only you.

?If you didn?t choose to, there would not be bad governance in this country, because, if you decide none of us go to the Senate, the story finishes and what do you do?

?You campaign against that man, and when a legislature is in his seat, it is not him that takes himself back to the National Assembly, it is the youths,? the senator further noted.

?It is not about sharing money or distribution of rice, make no mistake.

?If I bribed you before voting for me and I?m successful, I will first make sure I recover my money.

?And it is from your constituency allowance because you allowed yourself to be bribed,? he added.

Also speaking, Katsina Gov. Dikko Radda described the contributions of women and youths to the socio-economic and political development of any democratic state as indispensable.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Faskari, Radda said Nigeria?s democracy was at an ?average stage?, and urged stakeholders to bring together women and youths to enhance development.

?I welcome you all to this all important occasion and commend the leadership of the Senate for having designed a programme of this nature, which intends to develop the nation.

?As we are all aware, democracy in Nigeria is still in the processing stage and we are bound to make mistakes.

?But the lawmakers and practitioners in this field have observed the shortcomings in the practicalisation of democracy and taken the lead to amend the law to suit the problem of our country,? he said.

He said that the importance of women and young persons cannot be overemphasised, taking into account their important role in nation building.

?And unless there are mechanisms in place for them to thrive, there can be negative consequences if they are not properly brought up.

?An interactive session of this nature where you converge women and young people to interact with no other person but with the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, who are expected to take this matter to where it is supposed to be taken, is highly commendable,? he added.

In her remark, the country Director of UN Women, Ms. Beatrice Eyong, described the organisation as the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women Empowerment.

She welcomed the partnership with the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Reform and Kimpact Development Initiative.

Eyong was represented by the Programme Specialist on Governance and Women?s Political Participation with UN Women Nigeria, Chundung Ashley-Dauda.

She disclosed that women form 47.5 per cent of the 93.5 million registered voters in Nigeria, but only 10.1 per cent of the candidates fielded by political parties are women.

She noted that only between four to five per cent of those elected to the National and state assemblies in the 2023 general elections were women.

?UN Women is proud to support this interactive session, made possible through the generous contribution of the fovernment of Canada.

?I wish to express our gratitude to the government and people of Katsina for hosting this important convening.

?This is a clear demonstration of the governor?s commitment to ensuring the full and equal participation of both men and women in Nigeria?s electoral processes.

?This dialogue is crucial for amplifying the voices of women and youth in ongoing electoral reform discussions.

?Despite women constituting nearly half of Nigeria?s population, their underrepresentation in political leadership remains a significant challenge,? Eyong said. (NAN)

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